TDWH: Breakthroughs for Toby Keith, Pat Green

Highlights of Weekenders of five, 10 and 15 years ago. TDWH stands for “This Date in Weekender History,” not “Thanksgiving: Dallas Wins at Home.” Hope the latter is correct, though. And it’s a couple days early this week, instead of a couple days late. Amazing.

Nov. 26, 2004

MUSIC, EVENTS

Since it’s the usual, predictable mix of holiday fare, we’ll skip all that. Although the Holiday River Parade did start requiring all floats to be professionally decorated this year, and the Spurs’ Coyote was grand marshal. Hope he didn’t hurt anyone with his T-shirt cannon.

And unlike 2009, when we have major concerts out the wazoo, the biggest thing they had going five years ago was Tracy Byrd at Cowboys Dancehall and Pat Green at Gruene Hall. So let’s skip right to…

MOVIES

They were either really good, or really bad. The good:

 “Finding Neverland”: Directed by Marc Forster (“Monster’s Ball”), this look into the life of “Peter Pan” creator J.M. Barrie starred Johnny Depp as Barrie and Kate Winslet as the widowed mother of four he befriends. Express-News critic Larry Ratliff gave it his coveted four-jalapeño rating, calling Forster’s directing “inspired” and mentioning Winslet and Depp as Oscar bait. The movie was, in fact, nominated for seven Oscars, including picture and Depp for actor (but not Winslet), but won only for original score.

 “The Polar Express” in IMAX 3-D: If you thought the regular 2-D version was good, this version was eyepopping. As Larry pointed out, it didn’t hurt that it was the first feature film tailored to the IMAX format.

The bad:

 “Christmas With the Kranks”: One of the all-time worst holiday movies starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen as a couple trying to sneak out on all their holiday obligations, which doesn’t sit well with the neighborhood association (which mandates 100 percent participation in decoration) or a surprise visit from their daughter, who was supposed to be a Peace Corps mission in Peru.

 “Alexander”: Has there ever been an Oliver Stone film so quickly forgotten? This three-hour historical epic about Alexander the Great (Colin Farrell) was talky and disjointed, Larry said. And Angelina Jolie, who’s one year older than Farrell, played his mom. Yeah, right. Wouldn’t blame ol’ Alex for saying, “Mom, I need a hug.” A lot.

Nov. 26, 1999

MOVIES

 “Toy Story 2”: Eagerly anticipated sequel didn’t quite match the level of the original, yet it certainly held its own. This time, Buzz Lightyear rescues Woody from a toy collector looking to complete his set of collectibles from the ’50s TV show “Woody’s Roundup.” Of course, there had to be music by Randy Newman.

 “Flawless”: Perhaps the weirdest Robert De Niro movie ever. He plays a retired security guard who suffers a stroke and whose rehab involves singing lessons from a street-tough drag queen played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Yeah, another one of those.

 Pat Green at Gruene Hall: Here’s how much things have changed in 10 years: As music writer Jim Beal Jr. points out, Green was one of the hottest things going, selling lots of CDs and packing dancehalls  with almost no commercial radio airplay. Does that explain the rise of Texas Music or what?

“He kind of came out of the blue, but he’s like a miniature Jerry Jeff Walker or something,” said Gruene Hall co-owner Pat Molak, who’s seen a “Who’s Who” of talent cross his stage in 25 years. “He’s got amazing underground stuff working. We sell a ton of his CDs at our company store, second only to Jerry Jeff.”

“My goal is I don’t want to be too pigeonholed,” Green told Beal. “My music certainly has a strong Texas feel to it. The guys who came before me, especially Willie Nelson, have never been afraid to stretch the knot. That’s the way I want to be.”

 “Lord of the Dance”: Michael Flatley’s “Riverdance” spinoff was no Irish step-dancing revue. Wrote free-lancer Courtenay Martin: “Unlike its predecessor, ‘Riverdance,’ ‘Lord of the Dance’ is less a cabaret show with international elements, and more a flat-out fairy tale of good vs. evil that adheres strictly to modernizing Irish dance. There are flashy costumes, dramatic music, fancy lighting and beautiful dancers that make this experience unique.” And smoke machines, too.

Nov. 25, 1994

MOVIES

 “Junior”: This seemed like a big deal at the time, mainly because Arnold Schwarzenegger, a major action star at the time, played a pregnant man thanks to some sort of experimental medical treatment gone awry. This gave hunky Arnold a chance to say role-reversal lines like “Does my body disgust you?” and “My nipples are very sensitive.” Both Express-News critics Bob Polunsky and Larry Ratliff gave it a “sizzle” rating in our “Take Two” feature.

Nice mullet, Toby. The Triple Threat Tour, including Toby Keith, John Brannen (left) and Shania Twain, played Blue Bonnet Palace in 1992. Two year later, Keith headlined the same venue.

MUSIC, EVENTS

The Holiday River Parade was noteworthy for its grand marshal, “Dukes of Hazzard” star John Schneider, who was cast in the miniseries adaptation of “Texas” scheduled to air the following spring.

 Toby Keith at Blue Bonnet Palace: In 1992, the rising country star played the same venue as part of something called the Triple Threat Tour  a showcase of three artists newly signed to Mercury Records. The other two were John Brannen, who quickly vanished; and Shania Twain, whom you may have heard of. Keith returned as headliner this time, as his second album, “Boomtown,” had just gone gold thanks largely to the single “Who’s That Man,” which is about as divorced man driving by his old house to get a glimpse of his kids. “It’s a story I made up, but I tried to put myself in this guy’s place,” Keith told free-lancer Ron Young. “Seeing another man raise your kids must be a terrible feeling. I couldn’t imagine another man raising my children.”

 Gilby Clarke: The ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist played Sneakers with his band, the Tequila Brothers, in support of his solo album “Pawn Shop Guitars.” Clarke had replaced Izzy Strandlin in GNR two years earlier.Which was a bit strange, since he and Stradlin were friends before GNR, he told free-lancer Pat Jones. “We used to hang around LA. together. Then he put GNR together with (singer) Axl (Rose). I used to see him play because it was Izzy’s band and he’d always come to see my band play. That’s how I met everyone else in the band, through him.

“When he (Stradlin) quit, Slash called me and asked me to come down. It’s a strange thing that it was a friend who replaced him. I really wanted to get the gig. I kind of thought to myself that the only way in the world to get it was to show them that nobody else in the world could do it but me.”